Enter the fifth annual Ilembe Chamber’s Entrepreneur Competition

Entrepreneurs get ready for the fifth annual Ilembe Chamber’s Entrepreneur Competition, which will be launched on Wednesday, March 25 and is not to be missed.

The competition has allowed the Chamber, with the support of its academic and professional partners, to establish itself at the forefront of entrepreneurial development in KZN, by providing entrepreneurs and micro-businesses with a platform to move their businesses forward sustainably.

The programme is co-designed by the University of KwaZulu-Natal and USA-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and will run over a period of 12 weeks during which competition finalists will be exposed to intensive business modelling, both through tuition and practical application.

Finalists will also be supported by Chamber accredited mentors, the ‘grey-heads’, who have invaluable business experience and knowledge.

According to Sakhile Khumalo, newly appointed Business Support Manager at the Chamber, the support provided by the Chamber accredited mentors is one of the features of the competition that makes it unique and so successful.

Experienced, ‘grey haired’ business people who are interested in supporting budding entrepreneurs and micro-businesses for the duration of the programme are invited to contact Khumalo at sakhile@ilembechamber.co.za.

Businesses are also encouraged to make senior managers available to support this initiative through the much valued mentorship.

Competition entries will be invited over a period of six weeks with the first tuition session taking place on the May 23.

The Ilembe Chamber is once again supported in this initiative by its long standing partners Airports Company South Africa (ACSA), Enterprise iLembe and the North Coast Courier.